Dragon Warrior 2-4; any good for short bursts?

[Gloves | 11,839]

I want a game to play while I wind down before bed and have been hankering for an RPG. Was looking at the list of RPGs I've not actually played and the NES DW games are on that list despite my having owned them all for years and enjoyed the original quite a bit.

So a few Q's I suppose:

1. First and foremost, are any of the DW games from 2-4 ok to play in short bursts of about 30-60 minutes at a time; i.e. will I actually make progress or are there ridiculously long dungeons which would potentially halt my progress?
2. I anticipate that the answer is "no", but do I need to play 2 to play 3, and 3 to play 4? My understanding is the games are like Final Fantasy in that they have shared lore and themes between games, but are all self-contained; is that the case?
3. If I was to JUST play one of the DW games on the nES (aside from 1), is there one which stands above the rest as the definite best among them?

[Jeevan | 8,942]

32 minutes ago, Gloves said:

I want a game to play while I wind down before bed and have been hankering for an RPG. Was looking at the list of RPGs I've not actually played and the NES DW games are on that list despite my having owned them all for years and enjoyed the original quite a bit.

So a few Q's I suppose:

1. First and foremost, are any of the DW games from 2-4 ok to play in short bursts of about 30-60 minutes at a time; i.e. will I actually make progress or are there ridiculously long dungeons which would potentially halt my progress?
2. I anticipate that the answer is "no", but do I need to play 2 to play 3, and 3 to play 4? My understanding is the games are like Final Fantasy in that they have shared lore and themes between games, but are all self-contained; is that the case?
3. If I was to JUST play one of the DW games on the nES (aside from 1), is there one which stands above the rest as the definite best among them?

2 or 4, but 4 is broken into chapters.  No really long dungeons that i can think of really, but depends on how well you know it.....like me, who has played the dog shit out of them.  2 is a lot of grinding and a longish quest to get your first companion, and even a longer quest to get the second companion.  It is also a very grindy game at the end.

 

[darkchylde28 | 1,546]

What @Jeevan said regarding 2.  I've been whittling away at 2 for I don't know how long at this point, and it all comes down to the huge grind at the end.  There are places where it can seem grindy, but if you explore, it's generally not too bad.  However, getting into, then through the last town and then on to the last dungeon and endgame have drug on for me forever.  You technically will make progress playing 30-60 minutes at a time, but it'll take a lot of those sessions to make it over the hump and on toward the end.

[Code Monkey | 2,014]

I've played and finished 1-3 on the NES.

Dragon Warrior II was pretty good, not much to say. I started it 3 or 4 times before dedicating the time needed to finish it.

Dragon Warrior III was one of the most painful games I've played and I just wished for it to be over. I remember playing it for 2 or 3 weeks straight, every day and being relieved when I found the exit in the overworld that fell through the middle of the map, only to reveal the ending. Or so I thought, I realised, to my horror, that I had just fallen down into the second part of the game and I was only halfway done. I worked on that game every day for my entire Christmas break one year and finally finished the day before I went back to work, it drained my soul of any joy I would have otherwise felt during the holiday season.

It was so painful a memory that I haven't yet started Dragon Warrior IV and that was probably 6 years ago.

[rdrunner | 422]

4 is by far my favorite of the NES Dragon Warrior games.  It's the only one of them that actually tells a story while you play, while also requiring the least amount of grinding.  The others mostly just throw an intro at you and off you go, having to level up forever before doing anything at all.

Yes, it can be played in short bursts while leveling.  Dungeons are all short enough to be completed in under an hour.  Note that you can only save at a town/castle, so be prepared to complete each dungeon in a single session.

No need to worry about what order you play the games.  The series has a "lore" that cannot be spoiled, especially 4, which is the start of a second trilogy.

Honestly, they're all great games, but if you had to pick one of them, you can't go wrong with 4.

[Dr. Morbis | 2,091]

1 hour ago, Gloves said:

do I need to play 2 to play 3, and 3 to play 4? My understanding is the games are like Final Fantasy in that they have shared lore and themes between games, but are all self-contained; is that the case?

They are trilogies, so 1-2-3 is one story and then 4-5-6 is another story, so I would recommend starting at 2 (since you said you've done 1) or starting at 4.  That being said, the first 1-2-3 trilogy is far more connected than 4-5-6, so really you could start on any Dragon Quest game from 4 onward and not really miss anything...

[Dr. Morbis | 2,091]

31 minutes ago, Code Monkey said:

Dragon Warrior III was one of the most painful games I've played and I just wished for it to be over. I remember playing it for 2 or 3 weeks straight, every day and being relieved when I found the exit in the overworld that fell through the middle of the map, only to reveal the ending. Or so I thought, I realised, to my horror, that I had just fallen down into the second part of the game and I was only halfway done. I worked on that game every day for my entire Christmas break one year and finally finished the day before I went back to work, it drained my soul of any joy I would have otherwise felt during the holiday season.

It was so painful a memory that I haven't yet started Dragon Warrior IV and that was probably 6 years ago.

That is many people's favourite in the series, and probably the most fondly remembered of the early games in Japan.  I've actually never heard of anyone having such a bad experience with III before in my life.  The Super Famicom remake is probably my second favourite rpg, but I guess you're the one person in the world I would not recommend that game to...

[Reed Rothchild | 9,586]

IV on DS = sleep mode

A godsend for short sessions

[Sumez | 2,994]

2, 3, and 4 all have dungeons that can push your play sessions into being longer than you want, with no way of stopping early until you find a place to save. This is mostly towards the late game though, and most sessions could be quite short if you want to. I guess  One dungeon in DQ2 particularly wants you to bring a pen and graph paper, trust me on that

And like Dr Morbis said, you want to play 1-2-3 in order ideally. It's not an actual continued story (every game in the series is stand-alone like FF), but there's still a plotwise thread between those three that's pretty rewarding to experience in the intended order. 

4-5-6 are mostly considered connected thematically, and even that is really weak. Just consider everything past 3 standalone. Every single DQ game likes to constantly reference other games from the past, but often those callbacks work both ways, so experiencing them in the opposite order feels just as satisfying 

Edited January 3, 2023 by Sumez

[Gloves | 11,839]

Thanks for the feedback and details everyone! I've decided to go with 4; knowing that it's the start of a new trilogy and that is has the least grinding and most story is especially helpful as I'm trying to get bang for my buck regarding time spent on this one. I'll probably still eventually revisit the 2nd and 3rd games in the future, but given the time I have now 4 sounds like the perfect fit.

[Tanooki | 4,952]

Only Dragon Warrior IV would fit for shorter bursts.  The game is made primarily of 5 chapters, and the first 4 of them are so independent of the others at first play the actually come off as bite sized independent mini RPGs which work really well. The last chapter is dramatically longer, but as others pointed out, nothing is ever too long or too taxing to get something done, dungeons included, so it would be the easiest by far to pick up and go at it with.

I'm not sure if you really must want to do this NES only, but the 3D redo of that on DS would be more ideal, you get some more control over your party the original left to the game itself to handle outside of the leader of the group. 

Currently the game is on sale for $10 on mobile format, usually sits at $15 and it's super rare (1-2x a year) it ever goes on sale since SE is so cheap about giving discounts.  Same can be said for the other dragon quest titles too, and the 1-3 games cost even less than those.

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/dragon-quest-iv/id847381935

[Gloves | 11,839]

12 minutes ago, Tanooki said:

Only Dragon Warrior IV would fit for shorter bursts.  The game is made primarily of 5 chapters, and the first 4 of them are so independent of the others at first play the actually come off as bite sized independent mini RPGs which work really well. The last chapter is dramatically longer, but as others pointed out, nothing is ever too long or too taxing to get something done, dungeons included, so it would be the easiest by far to pick up and go at it with.

I'm not sure if you really must want to do this NES only, but the 3D redo of that on DS would be more ideal, you get some more control over your party the original left to the game itself to handle outside of the leader of the group. 

Currently the game is on sale for $10 on mobile format, usually sits at $15 and it's super rare (1-2x a year) it ever goes on sale since SE is so cheap about giving discounts.  Same can be said for the other dragon quest titles too, and the 1-3 games cost even less than those.

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/dragon-quest-iv/id847381935

I appreciate the thought on the more updated versions, but I really don't play much handheld at all. It's not a form factor I enjoy, and specifically for this venture I'm looking for something very explicitly to lie in bed and play while I doze off to sleep at night. I'm playing on a small CRT with a controller in hand and if I should fall asleep while playing the controller which is built like a Nokia phone will just slide to the floor and the NES will continue to run without issue, whereas any mobile device will almost surely slide off my bed and smash into a million pieces. 

[Reed Rothchild | 9,586]

23 minutes ago, Gloves said:

I really don't play much handheld at all. It's not a form factor I enjoy

 

24 minutes ago, Gloves said:

specifically for this venture I'm looking for something very explicitly to lie in bed and play while I doze off to sleep at night

 

[Gloves | 11,839]

2 minutes ago, Reed Rothchild said:

 

 

What's the prob lol.

[Reed Rothchild | 9,586]

Just now, Gloves said:

What's the prob lol.

I'm picturing the CRT on the nightstand right beside you.  My wife would literally die with displeasure 

[Gloves | 11,839]

1 minute ago, Reed Rothchild said:

I'm picturing the CRT on the nightstand right beside you.  My wife would literally die with displeasure 

It's on a shelf, but pretty much yeah. I can lie in bed and play games or watch VHS with ease. My wife often falls asleep to the light and noise, it's soothing!

[Sumez | 2,994]

5 hours ago, Gloves said:

knowing that it's the start of a new trilogy and that is has the least grinding and most story is especially helpful as I'm trying to get bang for my buck

Not gonna try to talk you out of one choice or the other, but a good tip when playing any Dragon Quest game - don't play them for the story. Even when there's a lot of story focus, it's very superficial and simple, so don't expect Final Fantasy 6 or Trails in the Sky. If you can't enjoy the exploration and basic gameplay loop, they probably aren't for you. I had to return to the series a few times before it finally clicked for me.

[Sumez | 2,994]

4 hours ago, Gloves said:

appreciate the thought on the more updated versions, but I really don't play much handheld at all.

Gloves: "I don't enjoy playing games on handheld"

Also Gloves: "I need to be able to play an RPG in short 30-60 minute bursts while lying in my bed"

 

I don't think you quite grasp what a godsend for getting through long heavy RPGs a handheld format is.  

[Gloves | 11,839]

6 minutes ago, Sumez said:

Gloves: "I don't enjoy playing games on handheld"

Also Gloves: "I need to be able to play an RPG in short 30-60 minute bursts while lying in my bed"

 

I don't think you quite grasp what a godsend for getting through long heavy RPGs a handheld format is.  

It's really physically uncomfortable lying in bed with a handheld device like a DS or my phone. 

[Gloves | 11,839]

9 minutes ago, Sumez said:

Not gonna try to talk you out of one choice or the other, but a good tip when playing any Dragon Quest game - don't play them for the story. Even when there's a lot of story focus, it's very superficial and simple, so don't expect Final Fantasy 6 or Trails in the Sky. If you can't enjoy the exploration and basic gameplay loop, they probably aren't for you. I had to return to the series a few times before it finally clicked for me.

I'm not expecting a great story or anything, nor requiring one - I like the original Dragon Warrior gameplay loop, but I want to avoid just playing the 1st game for like the 10th time.

[Tabonga | 2,341]

23 minutes ago, Gloves said:

It's really physically uncomfortable lying in bed with a handheld device like a DS or my phone. 

For me the hardest part in playing my switch while lying down is that my arms get tired since I am holding the console in a basically unnatural position so my arms get tired easily.  If I sit up and play that problem doesn't surface.   Can you sit up and stop when you feel you are ready to drift off?

A couple of suggestions if you can go with a handheld are the two Shining Force games from the Genesis collection.  The Mercenaries series are pretty fun and not terribly deep in the mechanics one you get used to them.   Either of these choises are ideal for short bursts since they are organized around the battles which usually go pretty quickly.

Edited January 3, 2023 by Tabonga

[Gloves | 11,839]

2 minutes ago, Tabonga said:

For me the hardest part in playing my switch while lying down is that my arms get tired since I am holding the console in a basically unnatural position so my arms get tired easily.  If I sit up and play that problem doesn't surface.   Can you sit up and stop when you feel you are ready to drift off?

A couple of suggestions if you can go with a handheld are the two Shining Force games from the Genesis collection.  The Mercenaries series are pretty fun and not terribly deep in the mechanics one you get used to them.   Either of these choises are ideal for short bursts since they are organized around the battles which usually go pretty quickly.

Sitting up and playing staring straight down at the console is a great way for me to wake up with my neck in a lot of pain.

[Tabonga | 2,341]

Just now, Gloves said:

Sitting up and playing staring straight down at the console is a great way for me to wake up with my neck in a lot of pain.

One has to make sacrifices for art.

[Gloves | 11,839]

1 minute ago, Tabonga said:

One has to make sacrifices for art.

No I don't lol I have Dragon Warrior 4 on the NES and a CRT in my bedroom.

[wongojack | 221]

I'm not really an expert on this series.  I played Dragon Warrior on the NES when it came out and quit, but I played the GBC version of DW III years ago, and I thought it was great.  I'm not really a JRPG kinda guy, but that game kept me through the whole thing.  Not sure it makes sense for 30-60 min sessions, but to this day it is probably the only GB game that when I have woken up in the night and couldn't sleep, I would turn it on to relax.  Now we know that is not a good idea with blue lights and all that jazz, but heh, I did that.